i cannot stop myself from loving you still
by NightLocker
Summary: Spoiler warning, takes place after Vol 6 Episode 12. Bees fluff with a little action drabble in the middle.


It had been instinctive. Like, the final moments of it. Blake was pretty sure that it was going to end with either her and Yang's death, or it'd be with Adam's. There was no middle ground. Someone was going to die.

And they'd won. They'd pulled it off, with the key essentials of Blake's surprise attack, and more importantly, Yang using her semblance at the right moment and disarming Adam. After the mad dash happened, resulting in Adam getting stabbed through both a lung and his heart, he fell off. It had been instinctive. They knew it was time to be done with it, and now...

Now it was.

He'd fallen off the edge, the crack of his skull hitting the rock before the water was not hidden from Blake, despite the waterfall. Even Yang heard it. Adam was dead.

And they were free. Finally. And they sobbed. They cried openly for a few minutes, holding each other, breathing in the fresh air. Blake reaffirmed her vow to not leave, and Yang didn't doubt it for a second.

But now, they'd been here long enough. "Yang, we need to get back to the others. The towers been up for too long, by now Cordovin would have zeroed in on them."

Yang paused before standing swiftly, offering her hand. "You're right. We're not quite done yet. But we have to be careful, both of our auras are beaten down." She helped Blake to her feet before reaching up to cup her cheek and thumb away a stray tear. "You OK to run?"

Blake smiled and leaned into her hand gently. "Of course, lets go help them."

With that, they vanished into the underbrush, at a steady, but fast, pace. Blake had recovered what remained of Gambol Shroud, excluding the broken tip. When they ran past her lost jacket, she picked it up to wipe of what remained of Adam's blood before throwing it away again.

Yang's heart beat wildly. It'd been beating like a double kick on a drum set during a metal show for the past twenty minutes. Once she'd realized Blake was in danger, it had started, and it had not stopped, not even after Adam's death. She glanced down at her prosthetic, seeing some of the blood still smudged on her palm heel. Reaching up, she undid the Velcro of her neck warmer, using that to wipe her hand clean, before tossing that aside.  
Would the nightmares end? Doubtful. Was there less fear in her heart? Absolutely. The terror of both hers and Blake's nightmares was dead. They could rest knowing they'd done it themselves. Yang could trust her again, fully. Was there something to be said between them? Absolutely, but Yang knew, whatever it was now, it didn't matter as much as having Blake face Adam with her, and finishing that chapter together.

"This way." Yang whispered, keeping her breathing as steady as possible, Blake's ears picking up on the quiet instruction. Together they adjusted on the path, just minutes away from the cliffs.

Blake's feet felt more solid, sure and weightless than they had in years. After her stand in Menagerie, then in Haven, and now against Adam, her confidence in her ability to stand her ground had tremendously grown. She'd help fix the world in a way that didn't command respect, but earned it, and more importantly demonstrate the humanitarian side of the Faunus, to show them they weren't deserving of this hate when so much more good could be done.

But for now, she had to focus, they needed to get the Lamp to Atlas. And someone stood in their way.

Arriving at the cliff side, they saw the trapped Mech, its arm weighed down by the earth dust and ice dust that had exploded onto its arm.

"Ruby!" Yang called, grasping Blakes hand, running to her sister. "Weiss!"

"Yang? Blake!" Weiss exclaimed, seeing them looking rougher than before. "What happened? Where's your bike?"

Ruby cut her off. "Another time!" Ruby locked eyes with the other two. "A Leviathan has arrived, with countless other grimm. And Cordovin is in their main weapon for grimm, that Mech."

"She's immobilized?" Blake asked.

"Yeah, I shot her dust charge, and it reacted into a handful of other dusts." Ruby's eyes tightened. "But we need to free her."

Qrow stepped forward. "She's right. Without that Mech, that Leviathan will rain the grimm down on Argus, thousands will die."

Jaune spun and faced Ruby. "Got any lightning rounds?"

Ruby caught his eye and paused. "Weiss, how much lightning dust can you spare?"

"One vial." Weiss' eyes steeled, knowing what was coming. She cracked open the lightning dust cartridge on Myrtenaster, refilling it from her pouch.

Jaune faced Nora. "Nor, it's time to do a thing."

Nora looked at them, and for once paused. "Alright, but understand that this will put me out, I lost a lot of Aura before Jaune protected me, but now, now Im really low. This hit to knock off the earth and ice will be all I got for now."

Ruby nodded. "So be it."

Everyone backed away from Nora. "Ready?" Ruby asked Nora.

Grinning like a lunatic, Nora responded; "Lets take down Godzilla."

Yellow flashed, then a pink charge surrounded her. Immediately she moved, launching herself with the strength of a god almost off the cliff, straight for the mech, her hammer unfolding. Cordovin still looked in despair at Argus and the Leviathan, she didn't realize the War Hammer wielding girl. Until a loud crash sounded.

Nora hit at the base of the dust formations, sweeping clear the dust, like she was sweeping with a broom. It didn't take long for almost all of it to be clear, and then Cordovin raised the cannon, gently, realizing what had just unfolded.

"Go save those people!" Nora shouted at the cockpit. "We'll be behind you!" Then a series of black glyphs appeared behind Nora, pulling her back to the cliffs.

Cordovin, not even responding, hurriedly moved the Mech as fast as she could to intercept the Leviathan. Then a crackle emerged from the loud speaker built in. "Attention, Citizens of Argus. Emergency Level Alpha. Return to your homes immediately. Pick up your own weapons that have been distributed and prepare to fight."

Ruby looked back at everyone. "Right. Let's go."

It had been long. So long. Blake could barely stand. How many Griffons and Manticores had they plucked from the sky? It'd been too many. There even had been a Sphinx. It'd been too much. It was all becoming too much.

Yang staggered beside her, her left arm, her flesh and bone arm, torn up and bleeding. She'd taken a slash from a Manticore, before grabbing it through the eye socket with her prosthetic and ripping its face plate off with a semblance boost. "Blake."

"...You OK Yang?" Both of their breathing was heavy. Very heavy.

"I'm pushing through. You?"

"Just trying to breath."

A squawk sounded throughout Argus. "Attention all Atlas personnel, Leviathan threat has been neutralized. Clear the skies."

"...Well, that saved us some trouble, I was beginning to think we'd have to go show her how its done." Yang chuckled.

Blake could only laugh. "Right..."

"Whats up Blake?" Yang sat down next to her friend. "We need a breather otherwise we're more useless than we are without auras."

Blake paused. "...Adam asked what I saw in you. And-...and all I can say is that I see is my other half. The one who lets me be me, truly." Yang absorbed this as Blake carried on. "All I see with you is a shining star, one that is uncomparably gorgeous, ferocious, dedicated and passionate. And... and you know, I think that's why I love you Yang." Amber eyes didn't flicker with nervousness, they were both too exhausted for that, just passion, admiration and love.

Yang's eyes however, opened wider before sinking shut with a smile gracing her lips. "You know kitten," she stood, coming toe to toe with her partner. She opened her eyes, gazing down into joyful amber ones. "You can't drop that kind of bomb on me without expected an even more flattering compliment. You're one of the few people who knows almost everything about me, my hardest struggles in life, and my biggest fear. You did scare me, but you've come back, we've beaten our biggest enemy and we've basically lived and died with each other with this shit hole of a battlefield. You say I'm a shining star? Well let you be the pond that gathers that light and shines it back out for the world to see in unmatched beauty. Thats the best way to witness peace, observing the beauties of this world in tandem. You're beautiful yourself, I'll have you know, and dedicated to being a good person. It's what made me love you when we started this, two years ago at Beacon." She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against Blake's.

"And I cannot stop myself from loving you still."


End file.
